Of Swords and Myths
by An Orange Peon
Summary: In the final battle of the Holy Grail War, Shirou Emiya faced the King of Heroes and won. But even in defeat, Gilgamesh refused to die. In order to protect all that he knew and loved, Shirou sacrificed himself to ensure that Gilgamesh's death. But just when Shirou thought he was going to die, the Holy Grail granted him one last wish. A wish that would allow him to become a hero.
1. Chapter 1

Shirou gasped from the physical strain of trying to resist the overpowering pull of Enkidu, the heavenly chain that wrapped around his arm. Clutching tightly to the other end of the Noble Phantasm was the eighth Servant – the one he had already beaten, yet who had refused to simply lay down and die: the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh.

"Shit!" he swore as he desperately fumbled around at the chain with numb fingers. "Dammit!"

Across the courtyard of the Ryudou Temple, there was a black circle, a void, from which the head, arm, and parts of the upper body of Gilgamesh could be seen. From that much alone, Shirou could see the severity of the damage that the void had inflicted on the Servant. Flesh and clothes alike had been partially melted away, more so in some places than others. In the worst areas, Shirou was even able to see the white of Gilgamesh's bones. As a human, a much more fragile and vulnerable existence than a Servant, Shirou knew that being pulled into that void meant inescapable death.

A feral grin spread on Gilgamesh's bloodstained lips as he continued to slowly drag himself out of the void by using Enkidu to reel himself out and Shirou as the anchor. In just a few moments, Gilgamesh would succeed in fully pulling himself free from the deadly void.

Shirou spat angrily. He could not let that happen, no matter the cost.

So then, what should he do now? Take Gilgamesh down with him, or try to struggle to the very last second?

In the former, both he and Gilgamesh would die. In the latter, the Servant would likely escape the void, kill him, and then go on to kill Rin. After that, who knew what else the King of Heroes would do?

Shirou snorted. That was no choice at all. If he was going to die in either case, then he should at least do what he can to save Rin and everyone else from that fate as well. That was what it meant to be a hero, after all.

Gathering the last of his strength, Shirou flung himself forward towards a very surprised Gilgamesh, who had by this point succeeded in freeing his body down to the waist from the void. Colliding bodily with the Servant, the Faker and the King of Heroes both fell back into the blackness of the void.

* * *

All around him, Shirou could see nothing but darkness. Darkness so profound that it could hardly be described merely as such. It was an absolute nothingness. A place where creation itself did not belong. Thus, both he and Gilgamesh were aberrations here. They were things of corporeal stuff. They had no place here.

The void sought to rectify that by eliminating their very existences.

There was pain. Pain so blinding and indescribable that he could not breathe, though had he tried, he would have quickly realized there was no air for him to breathe. His mouth split open in silent wail. One by one, his senses were stripped away. His sense of touch was the first to go. His sight, the second. With those two gone, he lost track of Gilgamesh, though at this point it did not matter overmuch.

But through it all, he did not regret his choice. This was a necessary sacrifice. He would not feel remorse. But as contradictory as it might be, he had no desire to die. There was still so much he needed to protect. Things he needed to do. To die now would make all his efforts and the deaths of countless others meaningless.

He wanted to live.

He wanted to _live!_

* * *

In the midst of a raging storm of most holy light, the darkness infesting the Holy Grail screamed. This was not possible! It could not be that he was to be stopped for a second time from manifesting itself within the world. Not again! It would not be stopped by the damnable King of Knights again!

It howled its fury, bringing all the power it could muster to challenge the holy sword of the king. Thick tendrils of cancerous flesh, burning mud, and most foul energies surged against the storm. It clawed viciously through the light, looking to rend apart the king and feast upon her very soul. For a moment, it made headway, and the success spurred its efforts to even greater heights. But then the king retaliated with even greater strength, pouring all of her essence into the attack.

For all its efforts, for all its power, the darkness knew then that it could not hope to defeat the King of Knights. Not this time, nor any other time. It had lost, and there was no way it was going to survive.

It ceased its struggles and waited for the light to take it. But then, it heard something. A single, lost voice calling out from another place. It spoke of desire. It spoke of wants.

It spoke of a wish.

The darkness of the Grail felt a new hope rise up. As corrupted as it was, it was still the Holy Grail. Its true power could only be called upon in response to a wish. The boy wanted to live. If that was the case, it would comply. And through that wish, it too would survive.

As the last pieces of its physical form broke into pieces, it let loose the volatile energies held within in answer to the wish of Shirou Emiya.

* * *

In the gap between creation, a boy drifted alone. Tiny motes of his flesh and blood and clothes broke off from him, floating away for a few seconds before vanishing as well. He had only the very barest dregs of consciousness left in him, but what little remained notice something remarkable.

Whereas moments earlier, his body had been undergoing excruciating pain as his body slowly dissolved, now he felt if not healthy, then at least no longer dying. He could even feel the vestiges of his consciousness begin to return to his mind. His senses began to restore themselves as well, and his capacity thought slowly returned.

Shirou looked up in a daze, unaware of what was going on and as of yet still unable to mentally articulate the question either. All he knew was that at the end of this seemingly infinitely vast darkness, a light appeared. It was small, just barely big enough for him to swim through, but it was enough.

He fell through it and landed on solid earth once more.

* * *

"Hey, Xenovia, do you think he's dead?"

"I'm not sure. He looks dead."

"Should we bury him, then?"

"Wouldn't we get in trouble if we just started burying a corpse?"

"Oh, that's true. We should at least offer a prayer for him, then."

"Yeah, but what will we do with the body? We can't just leave it lying around here."

"Should we call the police?"

"I guess so."

"Do you have a cellphone?"

"You mean you don't?"

"That's why I'm asking you, isn't it?"

"Well, why would I have a cellphone? It's not like we ever used one at the Church."

"So you're saying that you don't have phone?"

"No. Hm... Do you think there's a payphone around here somewhere?"

Shirou moaned very softly as the barest inkling of consciousness returned to him.

"Did you hear that, Xenovia?"

"I did. Check for his pulse, Irina."

Two soft, warm fingers pressed against the side of his neck.

"He's alive!"

A muffled slapping sound. "I can't believe how stupid we are. To just automatically assume that he's dead... Come on, we should get him inside somewhere."

"Eh? But didn't we need to go meet with the Gremory heiress?"

"Yes, but that will have to wait."

"The higher ups won't be pleased about a delay."

"Well, the higher-ups can reread the parable of the Good Samaritan, then. Come on, help me pick him up."

Two pairs of hands slid under him and Shirous weakly cracked his eyes open. He vaguely realized that two girls were picking him up, before the effort drained him of his remaining energy and he once more returned to the darkness.

* * *

Shirou slowly blinked his eyes open and yawned. He pushed himself up to a sitting position and rubbed his eyes blearily.

"Oh, hey. You're awake."

Shirou looked at the speaker, a girl with blue hair, and blinked at her.

"Mhmm," he yawned again. "Good morning."

Suddenly, Shirou's eyes went wide and he yelped in panic. He stared at the girl as if noticing her presence for the first time.

"Who are you?" he demanded. "What are you doing in my room?"

The girl arched one eyebrow. "This isn't your room."

"What are you..." Shirou looked around and a growing sense of urgency filled his mind. "Where am I?"

"Calm down," the girl soothed. "My name is Xenovia Quarta. You're in a motel room that we rented for you after we found you sleeping in the street."

"In the street?" Shirou repeated, becoming more and more confused with each passing second. "Why on earth would I be sleeping there?"

Xenovia snorted. "How am I supposed to know?"

Shirou groaned and buried his face into his hands. "Hold on one second," he mumbled.

Shirou began to dredge up his memories, foggy though they were, in order to try to piece together what was happening. The last thing he could remember with any real clarity was challenging Gilgamesh, defeating him, and then... dying?

Like lightning, realization struck him. He was alive. He was alive, though he should be dead. He had thrust himself into the void of death in order to save everyone he knew and loved. How was it that he had survived? What had happened that allowed him to survive?

A second bolt of thunder struck him. What happened to Gilgamesh? If he had survived, was it not possible that the King of Heroes might have survived as well? He needed to warn Rin, immediately.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"I need to go," Shirou said as he began climbing out of the soft, western-style bed he had been sleeping on. "Thank you for your help, Xenovia."

"Hold on." Xenovia stood up and pushed Shirou back down on the bed. "Unless you plan on going outside in bath robes."

Shirou looked down at his own body and realized for the first time that he was not in his normal clothes. He looked back at Xenovia with no small amount of trepidation.

"Did you do this to me?"

"Had to. Your clothes were ripped to shreds," Xenovia said. "Ah, but don't worry. I made sure not to look down there."

"And that makes me feel so much better," Shirou muttered quietly enough that he could not be heard. "Listen, Xenovia, I'm thankful for the help, but I really need to get going."

"In bath robes?" she said again.

"It covers all the important parts," Shirou said. Besides, he could always project some temporary clothes once he was out of sight.

"I don't know much about Japan, but is that sort of thing allowed in public?"

"Well... no. But-"

"Then just wait a little while longer," Xenovia interrupted. "My friend should be on her way soon with some clothes for you."

As if on cue, the door to the room suddenly flung open and another girl dressed similarly to Xenovia walked in with a large plastic bag in hand.

"I'm back, Xenovia!" the girl said cheerfully. She noticed Shirou staring at her and smiled brightly at him. "Oh, you're awake!" she chirped and handed him the bag. "Here you are. Some new clothes for you."

Shirou pulled out a pair of blue jeans and a black long-sleeved shirt.

"Thank you," he said to the two girls. "Is there anything I can do to repay you two?"

"Don't worry about it," Xenovia said. "We didn't help you for a reward, you know."

"Are you sure?"

"We're positive," the second girl nodded, her brown twintails bobbing as she did so. "Besides, we need to get going."

"Feel free to stay here for a while," Xenovia said, as she stood up. "We've paid for the room for the next three days."

"Thank you," Shirou said again. "I promise to pay you back for this."

Xenovia smiled at him. "Be well, Shirou."

* * *

In the days that followed, Shirou realized something as shocking as it was unbelievable.

He was in another world.

On the very first day, he had attempted to find a way back to Fuyuki City, but his attempts were blocked not just by the fact that he had no money, but because Fuyuki City itself did not exist. More, it was not that it no _longer_ existed, it had _never_ existed. Nothing about his hometown could be found anywhere, not in the public library nor on the internet.

Shirou had spent the next two days desperately trying to figure out a way to get back home. The result was that he had simply wasted two days. For the time being, he needed to find a place to stay and a source of income, because after today he was going to be out in the streets.

It was with that in mind that Shirou wandered the city, trying to find some place that would be willing to employ him. Unfortunately, without proper identification, he had been unsuccessful.

With a sigh, Shirou sat down on a bench in a town square, idly watching various people walk to and fro. From that crowd, a girl in a short white skirt and a red blouse with frilly bat wing-like decorations approached him.

"Are you all right?" she asked curiously.

"I'm fine," Shirou smiled back. "Thank you."

"Hm... Well, if you're sure," the girl said, though she looked unconvinced. Her expression suddenly brightened and she dug around briefly in her purse and pulled out a small flier. "Here, take this."

Shirou accepted the paper and frowned. Printed on its surface was a magic circle, though it was of a design he had never seen before.

"What's this for?"

The girl winked at him. "If you need to make a wish, just hold onto that tightly while you think about it. I guarantee it will come true."

Before Shirou could say another word, the girl winked at him and disappeared back into the crowd, leaving Shirou staring suspiciously at the piece of paper that reeked of prana.

* * *

"Here goes nothing," Shirou muttered to himself. He closed his eyes while clutching onto the flier and began repeating the same words in his head over and over.

_I need to make a wish. I need to make a wish. I need to make a wish._

In response, the magic circle slowly begin to glimmer, like light forcing its way through an ever-widening crack. And then, when its glow reached its zenith, a magic circle identical to the one on the flier suddenly appeared on the ground. Bright crimson red, it illuminated his small motel room entirely. Rising up from the center of the circle, as if growing straight out of the ground, a blond boy roughly his own age appeared.

"Greetings," he said in soft, respectful tone. "I am Yuuto Kiba, Knight of Rias Gremory. In accordance with your desires, I have come to grant your wish."

A memory. Gremory... Gremory... Where had he heard that name before?

"Are you a magus?" Shirou asked.

"A magus?" Kiba frowned. "You mean a mage? No, I'm nothing of the sort." The blond boy rubbed his chin. "Pardon me, but what was your name again?"

"Shirou Emiya."

"Well, Shirou," Kiba said. "It seems that you are quite new to this, so please allow me to inform you of how the procedure works."

"You see," he began, "though I may look like it, I am not a human. I am a devil. And because you summoned me through that piece of paper, you are my client. Whatever wish you might have, if it is within my power to grant it, I do so for you."

"What's the catch?" Shirou asked, instantly locking in on the word "devil."

"No catch," Kiba said. "Of course, since this is essentially like a business transaction, I'll require compensation, which varies depending on the magnitude of your wish, if I successfully fulfill your wish. Oh, but don't worry. It's not what you think. I don't require your soul or anything like that." Kiba laughed briefly. "Things like money work just as well for payment."

"I don't have any money or anything else I could pay you with."

"That's all right," Kiba said. "It's also permissible for you to, shall we say, pay on credit."

Shirou narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Pay on credit?"

"Yes," Kiba nodded. "You can agree to a magically binding contract that says you'll pay at a later time. Or you can always just compensate me by performing favors of your own."

"What kind of favors?"

"Just simple stuff," Kiba said. "Things like assisting me with other people's wishes, or if you somehow happen to have information I need, providing me with it. Nothing dangerous, though, of course."

"Of course."

"One last thing," Kiba said. "We devils do have a few rules and guidelines. First of all, we will not grant any wishes that involve hurting anyone else, whether directly or indirectly. Second, as we devils are as varied in skill sets as there are as many of us, the capabilities of each devils are naturally different. I confess, my own natural inclinations gravitate towards swordsmanship. If you need a sparring partner, that is the area where I will most excel. Finally" – and here Kiba pulled out a slip of paper from his pocket and handed it to Shirou – "it would be very much appreciated if at the end you filled this out for me."

Shirou looked down at the paper, then back at Kiba. "You want me to fill out a customer satisfaction survey?"

"It would be most helpful," Kiba said gravely.

"You're joking."

"Not at all," Kiba said. "Now, I believe I've explained everything. Tell me, what is your wish?"

Shirou hesitated. "How much would it cost for a place to stay? I'm kind of homeless at the moment."

"Oh, that must be tough," Kiba commiserated. "If you don't mind, I could let you stay at my place. Compensation would be your share of the monthly rent."

Shirou looked around in a surreal daze, as if unable to believe what was happening. "I'm sorry, but am I making a wish or finding a roommate?"

Truly, compared to the supposed miracles the Holy Grail could bring forth, this all seemed so much more... mundane.

"A bit of both, I suppose," Kiba conceded. "You said you don't have any money, right? So you may pay at a later date or through some other means. Or, if you'd like, I could also help you get a job, though that would cost extra."

"What kind of job?"

"A janitorial job at my school," Kiba said apologetically. "I know, not the most glamorous of work, but at least it pays the bills, right?"

"You're school... it wouldn't happen to be in Hell, or something like that, would it?"

"Of course not," Kiba chuckled. "It's a private school right here in town. Kuoh Academy."

Shirou groaned and slapped one hand over his face.

"Shirou?" Kiba frowned, his face full of concern. "What's wrong?"

Shirou sighed. "It's just... are you sure you're supposed to be a devil?"

"Indeed, I am."

Another sigh.

"All right," Shirou said, suddenly feeling abnormally exhausted. "I'll make that wish."

* * *

If he were to be totally honest with himself, Shirou had to admit that he had expected Kiba's home to be a small apartment. Devil aside, he looked so much like a normal human his own age that Shirou could not help but place human expectations on him. It was why he was stunned when he was taken to a large, western-style building, too large to be simply called a house and too small to be a proper mansion.

The building itself was two stories high and painted a dazzling white with a black rooftop. Its main halls fed directly into the kitchen and dining room, a living room, stairs that led up to the second floor, and a Japanese style training room. It reminded Shirou greatly of his own dojo room. The lacquer wooden floor showed signs of recent cleaning and the wall that separated the room from the spacious backyard had been replace by windows supported by wooden frames. Compared to the western style of the rest of the home, this room was very much out of place. It did give Shirou some relief. Having at least one place even vaguely familiar to him was comforting.

The second floor consisted of a large master bedroom, two smaller guest rooms, and a small library. Oddly enough, a cursory glance over the spines of the books showed that much of the library's contents were devoted to swords or myths involving swords. Standing out amongst these books was a single one bound in maroon leather, for it was the only one which sat alone on a desk in the center of the room. As it was written in English, Shirou did not know what the title of the book was. But he could guess. The picture on the cover made that easy to do.

A single hand emerging from a lake, holding a most beautiful sword, while a man dressed in the finery of a king approached by boat.

Excalibur.

"And that's the end of the tour," Kiba said. "You have the run of the house, but do try to be respectful to my things, if you please."

"Of course," Shirou said, while wrinkling his nose.

Kiba noticed this and frowned. "Does something offend you?"

"It's just... do you have something cooking right now? Because I'm smelling a lot of smoke."

"No," Kiba said. "Are you sure you're not just imagining things?"

"Maybe," Shirou said.

"Well, in any case, why don't you go ahead and settle yourself in?" Kiba said. "I'll get something to eat started. Tomorrow, I'll take you to my King to see about you getting that job at school."

* * *

The first thing that Shirou noticed upon entering Kuoh Academy's grounds was that the same smoky smell that lingered in Kiba's home permeated this place far more thickly. As he had laid awake in his borrowed bed the night before, Shirou had realized just what the origin of the scent was: the devils themselves. Unconsciously and uncontrollably, they gave off "pheromones" that he could detect, but only in locations where they spent enough time for the pheromones to accumulate. The fact that the smell nearly made him gag the first time he set foot on campus was testament to how much time devils spent here. Or perhaps it was due to how _many_ of them were here.

Kiba led Shirou to the old school building, the smoke becoming thicker as they got closer, and took him to a room on the highest floor. Contrary to the abandoned nature of the rest of building, the room was lit, well furnished, and filled with people. With devils.

"Buchou," Kiba greeted the red-haired girl who sat at a desk in the back of the room with a respectful bow.

"Yuuto," she smiled back at him warmly. "And you must be Shirou Emiya. I'm Rias Gremory. Nice to meet you."

A nagging feeling gnawed at the back of his mind. Again, the name Gremory sounded so familiar, but he just could not place his finger on where he had heard it before.

"Nice to meet you, too," Shirou said. "I'm Shirou Emiya... but you already knew that."

"Yes," Rias said. "Yuuto took the liberty of informing me of who you are and what you wished for. I must say, it was a very pragmatic wish."

"Most people don't wish for things like that?"

"Oh, many do," Rias said. "Many more ask for things that are... well, more _wishful._ Helping them to get the person they love to notice their feelings, making them capable of winning an important competition, dressing up as their favorite anime characters..."

"Wait, what was that last part?" Shirou said. "I think I misheard you."

"I said, dressing up as their favorite anime characters," Rias said. "Though, I must confess, it's usually Koneko who gets those requests. Something about her being 'moe.'"

"Uh... right..." Shirou looked around the room at the people staring at him. "So, who's who?"

"Apologies," Rias said. She began gesturing at each person around the room and introduced them one by one. "This is Akeno Himejima. Toujou Koneko. Asia Argento. And Issei Hyoudou."

"Issei Hyoudou?" Shirou perked.

"Yeah?" the boy in question responded.

"Ah, sorry," Shirou said sheepishly. "It's just, I had a good friend who's name is similar to yours, so your name reminded me of him."

"Really?" Issei said. "What's his name?"

"Issei Ryuudou."

"Oh." Issei frowned. "Yeah, that really is similar. Weird coincidence, huh?"

"Moving back on topic," Rias smoothly interjected. "Shirou, would I be correct in assuming you are currently not in school?"

"I'm not," Shirou confirmed. "There's been... complications."

"Would you be interested in attending Kuoh Academy, then?"

Shirou opened his mouth to say yes, but then stopped and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "I don't suppose that would be for free, would it?"

Rias's lips twitched in amusement. "No, that would cost extra. Forgive me, but we are devils. It's our job to try to fulfill as many wishes as possible."

_Less like devils, more like salespeople,_ Shirou thought wryly. Then he mentally sighed. _Still, school is important..._

"Okay," Shirou said. "That's fine."

"Excellent," Rias said. "Issei, please escort Shirou to the student council room. I'll send a message ahead of you, so she'll know what needs to be done."

"No problem, Buchou." Issei grinned as he stood up and lightly tapped Shirou's shoulder with a fist. "Come on. Let's go."

* * *

For the next few days, life passed by with an utter sense of normalcy. So normal, in fact, that had it not been for the smoke that constantly lingered in his nose, Shirou would have forgotten that he was roommates with a devil. But like all things, that did not last.

As Shirou entered the house, he noticed that it was oddly quiet and strangely dark. From what Kiba had told him, devils had perfect night vision, so the lack of lighting wasn't particularly unusual. The silence, however, was almost unnerving.

"Kiba?" Shirou called out. He sniffed the air and began tracking the smell towards the training room. Kiba sat in the center of the room in seiza position.

_Meditation?_ Shirou wondered. If so, then he had no wish to disturb him. Shirou turned to silently glide out of the room.

"Wait."

Shirou turned back around.

"Sorry. Did I disturb your meditating?"

"No," Kiba replied curtly. "Do you know how to use a sword?"

"A little."

Kiba walked over to a rack beside the wall, where several shinais of varying length rested. He grabbed two of the same size and tossed one over to Shirou, who caught it midair.

"Spar with me."

Shirou blinked. "What?"

That was all the warning he got before Kiba charged.

* * *

For the first time since his summoning, Shirou was truly reminded of the fact that Kiba was not human. No human could move as fast as he was. Left, right, top, bottom. The devil's wooden sword struck towards him from all directions and it was taking everything Shirou had just to keep up.

Yet, as it impossible as it seemed, _he was keeping up._

Shirou could sense it through every swing and thrust of Kiba's sword. He was angry. Angry at what, Shirou did not know. But that anger dulled his movements, making them almost simplistic. More than that, Shirou could tell that it wasn't him that Kiba was trying to fight, but someone else. He was not even registering in the devil's eyes.

Taking advantage of a small opening in Kiba's stance, Shirou swung his shinai down towards the collarbone. But in a move that Shirou could not have possibly predicted, Kiba simply grabbed the sword mid-swing and snapped it in half.

"Oh," Shirou managed to utter, before the tip of the bamboo blade met his throat and light fled from his world.

* * *

"Shirou! Shirou!"

Shirou groaned and slowly opened his eyes.

"Rias? Asia?" Shirou murmured. His throat felt oddly congested, although that was a quickly fleeting sensation underneath the soothing warmth of the green light coming from Asia's hands. "What are you two doing here?"

Rias winced. "You don't remember?"

"Remember?" Shirou said, his throat at last having cleared up. Realization struck him. "Oh, right. Kiba."

"He did call for me and Asia right away, but that is no excuse for what he did to you," Rias said. "As his King, I apologize and I assure you he will be punished severely for hurting his client."

"How bad was it?"

"... You were lucky we managed to get here as quickly as we did."

"That bad?"

"Yes."

Shirou looked around. "Where's Kiba?"

"I was hoping you would know," Rias confessed. "He's gone."

* * *

It had taken much convincing, but eventually Shirou had managed to get a few weeks worth of advance payment from the school. Student Council President Sona Sitri had been most helpful in that regards. With that in hand, he had managed to move into a small, cheap apartment of his own. This had displeased Rias, who saw this as a move made in response to Kiba's attack. She was correct, and she did not protest the decision.

For the next few days after that, Shirou saw little of Rias and her peerage. From what he gathered, however, it appeared that not only was Kiba still missing, but Issei, Koneko, and even a boy from Sona's peerage had disappeared too. Unfortunately for them, they had quickly been found by their masters. Shirou felt sympathy to the wayward trio. No matter what they looked like, Rias and Sona were devils. Who knew what sort of cruel torture they had put them under as punishment? Surely, there was no possible way that they had gotten off with only a figurative spanking. It must have been something truly and utterly terrifying. Mentally, Shirou made a note to himself to check in on the three and offer his condolences.

Before he could, Rias had suddenly appeared before him. She gave him but a single warning: Do not come to Kuoh Academy. She cautioned him that it was for his own good. Shirou could tell from the tone of her voice that she meant it too. She was genuinely concerned for his own safety.

And that was why Shirou ignored her warning completely.

* * *

From the outside, it was impossible to tell from sight alone, but there was a barrier surrounding the entire school. It did not act like a physical wall, but as Shirou approached it, he suddenly felt an extreme disinterest in continuing on further into the school. For a moment, he nearly succumbed and turned away to leave, but he reminded himself of why he was here and forced himself to continue.

Standing with arms outstretched near the edge of the barrier was Sona Sitri and her peerage. They, it seemed, were responsible for the formation of this bounded field. But if they thought this was enough to keep him away, they had severely underestimated his own stubbornness. Getting Taiga to eat her vegetables had been a far more challenging task.

One step. That was all it took to step past the barrier and see a transformation of the peaceful school grounds that the bounded field showed and the hellish battlefield it had actually become. Craters dotted the field and buildings lay in ruins. Giant three-headed dogs like those from Greek lore fought against Xenovia and Rias and her peerage. Fire spewed from their mouths as they chased after their would be prey.

"Of course!" Shirou muttered to himself and slapped one hand over his forehead.

Finally, Shirou remembered where he had heard the Gremory name. When he had first been dropped into this world, Xenovia and Irina had mentioned it. To meet with the Gremory heiress, that was what they had said when he had been clutching on to only the faintest strands of consciousness.

Was this why they needed to meet with her? To warn her of this?

As his mind finally took in the chaos and processed it, Shirou became aware of the overpowering stench that filled the campus. The smoke was still there, but it was being drowned out by the smell of poison, rust, and corruption.

"Who is that?" Shirou wondered aloud as he looked at the source of the smell: a man with six black wings, lording above the fight in the air.

Whoever he was, Shirou could immediately tell that he was powerful. Powerful, and dangerous.

"Freed!" a familiar voice roared.

Shirou watched as the only one not fighting one of the Cerberus clashed sword against sword with a silver-haired man wielding a golden blade. They pushed against each other for a moment, and then Kiba's blades shattered, forcing him to jump back as new blades totally unlike the first appeared in his hands.

_Projection?_ Shirou's eyes widened. _No. Creation!_

"This is crazy," Shirou muttered to himself. It was almost like watching a scene straight out of the Holy Grail War. The furious energy, the desperate zeal, the struggle of life and death between mythical forces. Every part of it was all too familiar to him.

It needed to stop.

Without hesitation, without even thought, his body began running towards the fight. At the same time, a bolt of lightning shot from Akeno's fingertip caused the last of the dogs to dissipate in a burst of black flames. With the last distraction gone, it was then that all noticed Shirou's approach. That distraction meant that none noticed the silver-haired man parry aside Kiba's sword and move in for the killing thrust.

"Kiba, get down!" Shirou shouted.

_Trace on!_

Twin Chinese swords, one colored a gleaming black and the other a brilliant white, appeared in Shirou's hands. Kanshou and Bakuya. Shirou halted his feet, allowing the inertia to drive up his body and through his arm as he hurled Kanshou towards the silver-haired man. The black dao spun through the air even as the devil quickly fell onto his back, though not quickly enough to avoid a slash across his shoulder. The silver-haired man saw the flying sword approach, and he swatted it out of the air with his own sword. Kiba immediately seized the opportunity to jump to his feet and back out of range with the prodigious speed of a Knight.

"Shirou?" Kiba said, looking at him with eyes wide. Immediately, he winced and looked away with shame.

"What are you doing here, Shirou?" Xenovia said, Durandal hanging limply at her side. "No, more importantly, is that-"

"-a Sacred Gear?" Rias finished. She scowled. "You have a Sacred Gear and you never told us?"

Shirou blinked at them. "A sacred what now?" He shook his head. "Never mind. We can both ask questions later. For now, can someone tell me what the hell is going on?"

Rias nodded. "Long story short, that man over there, the one with the wings is Kokabiel, a fallen angel. He is trying to restart a war between angels, devils, and fallen angels. Those two humans over there are helping him."

"Oh." Shirou's features hardened. "Well, that certainly makes things easier to understand."

From behind the silver-haired swordsman, a much older man dressed in the vestments of a priest stooped down and picked up the fallen Kanshou. He carefully turned it over in his hands and studied it.

"Hm... I sense neither holy energies nor demonic taint from this sword," he said in an almost casual tone. "Which means your Sacred Gear is neither Blade Blacksmith nor Sword Birth. I wonder, what's the name of your Sacred Gear?"

"Take your hands off of my sword," Shirou spat.

"Ah." The priest watched with disappointment as Kanshou dissipated into tiny motes of prana. "How rude. I just wanted to take a small look."

"Shirou," Kiba growled. "Stay out of this. This is _my_ fight."

Shirou looked at Kiba's bleeding, _smoking_ shoulder, his limp arm and ragged breath, and the way that despite Asia's best efforts, the wound stubbornly refused to heal.

"I'm sorry," he said, "but you're in no condition to fight." He looked towards Freed and the old priest. "So I will fight in your stead."

"Wait, Shirou," Kiba said. "You can't win this fight. That sword he's using, it's Excalibur!"

Shirou looked at Kiba, then at the golden sword, then back at the devil.

"_That's_ Excalibur?"

Somehow, Shirou was... insufficiently impressed.

"Then this should be fine," Shirou said, as Bakuya disappeared from his hands. "Trace on."

"What the hell?" Freed swore and brought up his blade just in time to defend against Shirou's – a perfect replica to his own in every way.

Xenovia sucked in a breath. "Is that..."

"Excalibur!?" Kiba reeled back, nearly knocking over Asia in the process.

More words came from the rest of those watching, but by then Shirou had tuned them out, focusing his entire self into the battle. This Excalibur was so different than the one he remembered. It was broken, fragmented, and shoddily put together. It lacked both the power and aura of Saber's Noble Phantasm. However, this was still a weapon of power. One that deserved respect.

By merely holding the weapon, Shirou's speed and reflexes was elevated to inhuman levels and could render him invisible with but a thought. That wasn't all. The sword could create illusions and held mutable properties that allowed it to freely change its shape to whatever the user wished. It was why Shirou was able to fight with a nearly perfect replica of Kanshou and Bakuya, different only by the long, thin cord that connected their pommels, rather than the single longsword he had originally traced.

Sweat beaded Shirou's brow as the battle continued to drag on. By nature, his projections were not as good as the originals, which meant that his Excalibur was weaker than Freed's. However, that difference was made up for in skill. Freed fought with wild abandon, reveling in the power of his sword. This made him sloppy and careless. So long as Shirou avoided making mistakes like the one he had made against Kiba, he could make up for the difference in their weapons with skill.

But then again, there was no reason to take that risk. Shirou had originally hoped that using the very same weapon Freed used against him, a weapon that was supposed to be utterly unique, would throw him off balance, giving him the opportunity to quickly dispatch him. But since that ploy had already failed, there was no reason he needed to continue fighting against Freed with his own weapon.

Shirou scanned the area even as he continued to battle, searching for something he could use. His eyes settled on the sword Xenovia held in hand.

_Yes, that will do._

"Trace on..." Shirou said and threw aside his Excalibur. Seeing this opening, Freed lunged forward to deal the deathblow.

_Sccchling!_

The sound of metal shearing metal rang through the air. In its wake, only half of Excalibur remained in Freed's hands. Raised high in the air was a single black sword. Its blade was polished so that it gleamed in the light and its golden guard was formed such that the sword itself appeared like a cross.

"... Durandal," Shirou finished, and with that he brought down the jet-black blade, severing Freed in twain.

A quiet filled the air then. Slowly, the devils and the exorcist approached Shirou. Xenovia met Shirou's eyes and glanced from her sword to his. There was confusion and it was easy to understand why. Both their blades were Durandal, yet they were totally unlike each other. Shirou's was a beautiful but otherwise ordinary looking sword. Xenovia's was also beautiful, but its size meant that it more closely resembled the nameless axe-sword of Berserker than his Durandal.

"Later," Shirou said.

Xenovia nodded. "Later."

Kokabiel descended from the air, applauding slowly all the while.

"Impressive, boy," he drawled. "But i-"

"Issei, now!"

"Transfer!"

Shirou nearly jumped out of his skin when a torrent of black and crimson fire swallowed Kokabiel. Louder than thunder, it roared. It carved up the earth and disintegrated the school beyond the fallen angel. If within that destruction made form Kokabiel screamed, then he remained unheard.

For a moment, Shirou thought that was it. The battle was done before the main villain barely had a chance to speak. A little anti-climatic, but he could live with that. But life was never that simple. When it involved magic and myth, even less so.

Despite the overwhelming power of Rias' empowered attack, Kokabiel emerged from the fires looking none the worse for wear. A few scratches here and there, a ruined suit, but no real damage. Almost casually, Kokabiel brushed some imaginary dust off of his shoulders and yawned.

"As I was saying," he said, "that was very impressive. But it's just not enough."

A spear formed of dazzling light appeared in Kokabiel's hand. It grew and grew until it was larger than even Kokabiel himself, both in length and width. Its size was such that it no longer resembled any man made spear and the power that radiated from the thing was a tangible thing. Shirou instinctively took a step back, eyes wide.

"My turn."

For a moment, everything seemed to still as excess adrenaline pumped through his veins. He could hear it now: his heart pounding in his eardrums. _Ba-ba-bump, ba-ba-bump, ba-ba-bump,_ his heart went, beating faster than if he had run a strenuous sprint.

"Get down!" Shirou heard himself shout in slow motion. "Rho Aias!"

A massive seven-petaled flower materialized in front of them, guarding them against the incoming spear of light. The ensuing explosion rocked the very earth itself and kicked up thick plumes of dust and smoke. But when the air cleared, it was Kokabiel's turn to have widened eyes. For contrary to his expectations, the seven-petaled flower continued to hover before them as strong and resplendent as before, and those that it guarded remained untouched by Kokabiel's wrath.

Shirou wasted no words. Rho Aias vanished, having done its job, and Shirou raced across the field to meet Kokabiel in combat. He snarled and created his own sword of light. Durandal met the constructed sword, and the light gave way to the holy blade. Kokabiel jumped backwards and two more swords appeared in hand.

Then lightning struck him from above. Shirou glanced upward and saw that Akeno had joined the fray. She was not the only either. From the sides, Xenovia and a now fully healed Kiba both attacked simultaneously. Kokabiel parried their attempts and then his six black wings unfurled and batted the swordsman and woman away from him. But the action left him vulnerable in the center, and Koneko took advantage of this by dropping down in front of him from the air and throwing a punch with all her strength behind it. Her tiny fist caught Kokabiel by the stomach and he grunted as he slid back a step. With an angry snarl, he kicked the tiny girl away from him.

"Enough!" Kokabiel shouted.

A widespread dome of light burst outward with the fallen angel at its center. Once more, Shirou called upon Rho Aias. However, this time he could only protect himself and the ones who stood behind him: Rias, Issei, and Asia. The others, by virtue of being scattered throughout the field, were left abandoned by his protection.

As a shield, Rho Aias was a perfect defense against any kind of ranged attack. But therein lied its sole failing; its only weakness. It was a shield. This meant that the area it could protect was limited. More, just projecting Rho Aias was difficult enough for Shirou. Projecting one for every single combatant on the field was a simple impossibility.

But whether because the devils were a much hardier race than he had originally thought or Kokabiel had been unable to pour in as much power as he could have into his attack, everyone had managed to survive, if only barely. Xenovia, as the only other human there, had survived by taking the brunt of the blow with her enormous sword.

Shirou knew what he had to do then. He needed to buy time for Asia to heal each one of them. So he once more engaged the fallen angel. The Peerless Sword swung downwards, but Kokabiel simply stepped to the side to avoid it. Shirou's sword chased after him. Again, Kokabiel dodged. After swaying back against a slash that threatened to cut his neck, Kokabiel brought his heel up and lashed out with his foot.

"Guh!"

Shirou flew back and bounced off the ground once, twice, three times as bones shattered all over his body. For a moment, pain racked his world and he did his desperate best to force himself to rise through it. Fortunately, he did not need to try very hard, for Asia quickly ran to his side and healed his injuries within a matter of seconds.

"Thank you," Shirou quickly said before once more charging Kokabiel.

Durandal disappeared from Shirou's hands and Kanshou and Bakuya took its place. The beautiful daos sliced through the air gracefully. Kokabiel deflected these with his light swords and countered. He struck for the head, the liver, the groin, and all the critical openings that laid bare in Shirou's stance. But almost paradoxically, Shirou guarded against each of these attacks with ease. For every opening was a trap laid by Shirou, purposefully guiding Kokabiel into easily predicted attack patterns. Kokabiel noticed this. With a growl, he ignored all the vital weaknesses and simply lashed out at random. Shirou immediately brought up his blades to protect himself. But in such a clash, strength was matched against strength, and Shirou was simply no match. Kanshou and Bakuya flew out of his hands and landed far away from him. His instincts screamed at him, causing Shirou to subconsciously duck a returning blow and roll out of the way.

As Shirou regained his feet, a new weapon came to take the Chinese swords' place. It was a blood red spear whose cursed energies could be felt like the heat from a fire. Shirou took his stance, aiming the spear low, as if directing it towards the opponent's feet, and prepared to unleash the spear's true name.

"Gae-" Shirou began, only to find himself silenced as one hand backhanded him across the face, throwing him across the field, while the other wrenched the spear out of his grip.

Shirou felt blood fill his mouth as his jaw shattered into a dozen pieces. He ignored this pain and projected a new weapon. The very last one he had seen before coming to this world.

"Enkidu!" Shirou said in a garbled tone, his mouth too broken to allow him to speak clearly.

Divine chains appeared from small ripples in space all around Kokabiel. They bound him head to toe. He lost his balance and fell to the ground.

Closing his eyes, Shirou steadied his breathing. He had done it. There was no way Kokabiel would be able to free himself from the chains that had bound even Berserker.

"Good job," Rias said, as she approached him. Behind her, the others approached him as well, their wounds healed by Asia's magic. Asia stepped closer to him in order to heal his jaw. "Will those chains be able to hold him for long?"

"No, they'll fade away in a few minutes," Shirou said. "But until then, he's trapped."

"Hm... You know," Akeno said with a sly smile, "I could show you even better ways to play with chains after all this is done."

A shiver that had absolutely nothing to do with the battle crawled down Shirou's spine. Was that his instincts warning him of something dangerous that was about to occur?

"Hehehe," Kokabiel chuckled, causing all eyes to lock onto him. "You think these chains can hold me?"

He rose to his feet and beneath his binds his body seemingly bulged as he flexed his arms and wings. He strained against Enkidu, causing his face to turn a bright red from the effort. Then with a mighty roar he broke free, ripping the chains apart at their links.

"Impossible!" Shirou said.

Kokabiel laughed loudly, his breathing steady and easy. "I'll admit it, boy. Your weapons and tools are dangerous. Dangerous enough to put even me on guard. However..."

The fallen angel suddenly blurred. Shirou immediately projected Kanshou and Bakuya and guarded against the sudden downward slash of a sword of light. Before his allies could join the fight anew, Kokabiel's wings unfurled and swept them aside. Slowly, Kokabiel pressed down on Shirou who, underneath the vastly superior raw strength of the fallen angel, fell to one knee.

"In the end, whatever weapons you might wield, you're just a human," Kokabiel said. "And I... I am Kokabiel, the Fallen Star of God. I have fought and slain angels and demons alike. I am he who challenged the authority of the Almighty himself. I am that who laughs at the power of the Satans. But you – you are a mere human. And in the end, what can humans do but _kneel?_"

"Transfer!"

A feeling of sudden power coursed through Shirou's veins. His body had been enhanced to unnatural levels and his Od felt as strong as an ocean was vast. Despite that sensation, his magic circuits had not increased by even one. Rather, the potency of each one he already possessed had been raised to extreme heights, without the normal feeling of pain that came from breaking one's limits.

From the corner of his eye, Shirou saw Issei aiming his red gauntlet at him. Slowly, Shirou pushed back against Kokabiel's blade and got back to his feet.

"No, Kokabiel," Shirou grunted. _"I am the bone of my sword."_

Shirou turned his body and angled his swords in such a way that Kokabiel's blade slid away from him. Shirou brought one foot up and kicked the fallen angel away from him. With his boosted strength, this translated into the fallen angel flying back nearly halfway across the field.

"_Steel is my body and fire is my blood."_

Enkidu once more appeared and bound Kokabiel.

_I have created over a thousand blades."_

The fallen broke free of the divine chains, only to have another set bind him head to toe.

"_Unaware of loss, nor aware of gain."_

Black destruction and golden lightning hammered Kokabiel, who raged with impotence at the assault. For the third time, he broke free of his bindings and scattered Rias and Akeno's attack with a wide, sweeping motion of his wings.

"_Withstood pain to create many weapons, waiting for one's arrival."_

Kokabiel flew towards him, his body parallel to the ground. Koneko ran forward and tackled him, stopping him in his tracks.

"_I have no regrets. This is the only path."_

Kokabiel knocked the tiny white-haired girl aside. A veritable storm of blades appeared from thin air and rained down upon him.

"_My whole life was..."_

"Enough!" Kokabiel roared, shattering the offending swords. "You all die!"

"_... Unlimited Blade Works!"_

Fire changed the world.

* * *

The first thing that was noticed was that the school and the campus had all disappeared, replaced instead by a hill dotted with swords that seemed to stretch on infinitely. A beautiful twilight stretched across the sky, illuminating the world with its soft glow.

"Rias!"

The crimson-haired devil turned to see her friend and rival, Sona Sitri, run towards her with her peerage in tow.

"Rias," Sona said again. "We were maintaining the barrier when _this_ happened." She gestured widely at the scenery around them. "What's going on?"

"That," Rias looked at Shirou, "is a very good question."

On Shirou's part, he continued to face the fallen angel, not listening to the conversations around him.

"W-what is this?" Kokabiel whispered.

"This is my innermost world made real," Shirou said softly, reverently, as if speaking any louder would shatter the illusion he had made. "My soul made manifest. It is a world of a limitless number of the finest blades in existence. The swords of heroes and legends. This is my Reality Marble." Shirou glowered at the fallen angel. "Tread carefully, Kokabiel. You're in my world now."

"You... This is all an illusion!" Kokabiel declared angrily. "This is all fake!"

"True," Shirou said, "this _is_ all fake. But even fakes are more than enough for the likes of you."

A glorious blue and gold sword appeared in Shirou's hand, as if it had always been there.

"This... It's too good to use on the likes of you." Shirou raised the sword above his head. "But considering what you tried to do with this world's version of it, I'll make an exception."

A massive beam of light connected the heavens and the sword as Shirou poured more and more prana into his most powerful Noble Phantasm. From the edge of the battlefield, Valper Galilei peeked out from behind the cover of a large axe-sword. Tears filled his eyes and he began to weep openly.

"It can't be," he whispered wondrously. "Ex-"

"_Excalibur!"_


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Notes:_

_So I woke up this morning suddenly feeling like writing a Shirou vs Cao Cao fight scene. And, well, here it is. _

**-Snippet Start-**

Shirou faced Cao Cao from across the now ruined street. The holy spear burned brightly in the hands of the descendent of a hero, and Shirou tightened his grip on his own weapons: the married swords, Kanshou and Bakuya.

"I don't understand," Cao Cao said. "You wield the weapons of heroes past. You yourself strive to become a hero of justice. Yet you fight to protect the enemies of humanity. That is not the actions of a hero; it is the goals of a villain."

Shirou very briefly glanced over his shoulder, looking at the countless young devils fleeing from the fight, escorted by Rias and her peerage. Many of them bore irreparable burns and wounds, inflicted upon by the scorching light of the Spear. Many more lay dead, killed by the very same Sacred Gear. Shirou's hands tightened even further, until his knuckles turned completely white from the strain.

"I _will_ become a hero of justice," Shirou said, pointing Kanshou at Cao Cao. "I will fight to save everyone, no matter how hard it is. I'll never stop. I'll never give up." Shirou brought his blade back down and into a combat ready stance. "And the only villain I see is you."

"Then that's that," Cao Cao said. "Die along with the rest of the devils."

Cao Cao charged forward, but he lacked the speed of Servants or devils. Aside from his Spear, he was a totally normal human. But he was fast for a human, and the holy spear made his attack all the more lethal.

Shirou turned his body away from the direction of the Spear, allowing it to rush by him harmlessly. Shirou then swung Bakuya low, aiming to cut Cao Cao in his open legs. But then he vanished into thin air. He had not simply turned invisible. If he had, then he still would have been cut. The lack of resistance to his sword told Shirou that Cao Cao had instantly moved to another location.

Without thinking, obeying only his screaming instincts, Shirou rolled forward. As he spun, he heard the sound of concrete being broken. When he climbed back to his feet, he saw Cao Cao pulling his spear out of the road.

Bringing his arms back, Shirou hurled both Kanshou and Bakuya with all his strength. They spun through the air, unerringly aimed at Cao Cao. A simple wave of the spear suddenly sent the blades flying off to the side, burying themselves up to their hilt in the concrete. But such an action had given Shirou the opening necessary to make his next move. In his hands was the spear of mortal pain.

"Gae Bolg!"

With its true name, Shirou activated his spear's ability. But before he could thrust to direct it to its target, a wave of holy light blasted him from the front. It flung the blood-red spear out of his hands and sent him flying backwards.

In the distance, Cao Cao had his Sacred Gear leveled at him, its tip slightly smoking with golden fumes.

_Damn,_ Shirou thought to himself as he traced a new weapon in hand.

"Give up," Cao Cao said. "You are mistaken, but you are still human. You don't belong on their side. It's not too late to join me, you know."

"I'll stop if you agree to stop hurting innocent people first," Shirou retorted. "But you'll probably say no."

"They're not people," Cao Cao glowered.

Once more, the Chinese youth disappeared. This time, he reappeared directly in front of Shirou. His eyes widened as he brought his sword down to meet the incoming lance. They met with a loud, metallic clang, and then bounced off each other. Recovering first, Shirou swung his sword again, forcing Cao Cao to retreat by a half-step.

The weapon Shirou held in his hands was Durandal, the peerless sword possessing of three miracles. As Shirou chased after Cao Cao, he spoke to his sword in order to activate one.

"Break this spear," Shirou whispered.

The holy sword once again met holy spear, but not even a miracle was capable of severing the weapon that had drank the blood of the Son of God himself. This time, Durandal alone was repulsed from their clash.

"Defend me," Shirou said, causing the sword to abruptly jerk back in front of him to deflect an incoming strike.

This time it was Shirou who retreated and Cao Cao who pursued. The spear thrust forward, and the sword defended. One clash. Then two. At the third, Shirou made a full retreat, skipping back half a dozen steps and placing himself out of Cao Cao's easy range.

Durandal faded from Shirou's hand, and a new weapon materialized in order to take its place. Seeing this, Cao Cao snorted with disbelief.

"You're kidding me, right?"

Shirou said nothing as he took his stance, his gold and white spear a perfect mirror image to Cao Cao's own.

"Now you're just getting desperate," Cao Cao said. "Let me show you why that was a stupid move."

Cao Cao vanished again, reappearing above Shirou. At the last second, Shirou disappeared as well, and blinked back into existence a step behind where he had been standing – just in time to thrust his spear at the now vulnerable human. But his strike met only air, as Cao Cao once more disappeared from his sights.

Over and over this happened, with both sides striving to inflict a mortal blow, or at least a crippling one, on the other. But the constant teleportation had pushed the battle to a complete standstill. However, it took only five minutes before the stalemate collapsed.

Shirou gasped for breath as he leaned heavily against his Spear of Longinus. Opposing him, Cao Cao stood as fresh as he was since the battle started, save for the thin sheen of sweat on his brow.

"My Sacred Gear is a part of me," Cao Cao said. "I can use it as I please. But you? That is not yours. I'd imagine it must be quite difficult to maintain its usage."

"S-shut up," Shirou wheezed.

Cao Cao lips curled. "Enough of this, Shirou. You and I both know that there's only one way for you to defeat me. Do it. Call upon your Reality Marble so that I can strike you down."

"Yeah?" Shirou said, taking deep breaths to steady his breathing. "And why should I listen to you?"

"Don't be difficult," Cao Cao said. "You and I both know that if you don't, there's only one way this will end." He planted the holy spear tip first into the ground and crossed his arms and leaned against it. "Go on. I'll wait."

"Your funeral," Shirou muttered.

"_I am the bone of my sword._

_Steel is my body, and fire is my blood. _

_Withstood pain, to create many weapons, waiting for one's arrival._

_Unlimited Blade Works!"_

Fire waved outwards, and transformed the battlefield. The asphalt road, the wooden buildings, and the clear afternoon sky all vanished, replaced instead by an unending hill of swords and twilight. Shirou clenched his teeth, resisting the urge to scream as his magic circuits seared in his body. They had been pushed far beyond his limits – _too_ far. To call upon his Reality Marble without any assistance had wreaked havoc to his body. But he would last. He had strength enough to finish this fight, at least.

"Finally." Cao Cao picked up his spear, spun it once in the air, and then slammed the butt down onto the ground.

A pulse passed beneath Shirou's feet, coming straight from Cao Cao. An instant later, the sound of innumerable swords shattering rent the air. It was like the sound of millions of windows being broken apart at the same time, or the crashing of a plane. Shirou could only watch on in horror as more and more of his weapons were rendered into tiny pieces. When it finished, the swords uncountable had been reduced to a scant few dozen.

"What did you do?" Shirou demanded.

"Chatsuka Ratana," Cao Cao replied. "It's part of my subspecies Balance Breaker. You should feel honored. I made it specifically to deal with you." Cao Cao looked around at the still standing weapons and frowned. "Though it seems it didn't work out quite as well as I had hoped."

A sword appeared in Shirou's hand. With tortuous steps, he moved forward. All around him, he could feel his Reality Marble begin to distort and fade. It had already been weakly constructed due to his immature circuits, but the widespread destruction had strained it even further. He had minutes, no, perhaps only seconds before his Reality Marble fell apart completely. In those few remaining seconds, he needed to win.

Shirou raised his sword, and the might of the holiest spear met the power of the holiest blade.


End file.
